Australian Spring Racing Carnival: Memsie Stakes
Friday, August 30th, 2013
Good news horseracing lovers − the Australian Spring Racing Carnival is upon us! This Saturday (August 31st) sees the beginning of the Group 1 events with Memsie Stakes Day at Caulfield racecourse and, with many more great races to come – including the Caulfield Cup and the Melbourne Cup – there’s plenty for racing fans to look forward to. And, as always, Panda Sweeps will be here to keep you regularly updated as the Carnival unfolds.
Elevated from Group 2 to Group 1 for the 2013/2014 season, Memsie Stakes is a weight-for-age event, run over a distance of 1400m and worth a whopping $350,000 (~£200,000) in prize money. First held in 1899, Memsie Stakes takes place at Caulfield racecourse, Melbourne – one of the nation’s best known racing venues, which also hosts one of the Spring Racing Carnival’s top three events − the Caulfield Cup.
This year’s Memsie Stakes is looking like a highly competitive event, having attracted a massive 18 nominations, including 11 individual Group 1 winners. The event is always popular with spectators, as it usually marks a return to competitive racing for many of the entrants after the winter lay-off, making individual performances hard to predict. It also gives punters a great opportunity to judge the horses’ form, with many previous Memsie Stakes winners having gone on to success in later, higher value events. Makybe Diva in 2005, El Segundo in 2006 and So You Think in 2010 all won the WS Cox Plate either before or after taking victory in Memsie Stakes.
This year sees 2012 Melbourne Cup winner Green Moon and runner-up Fiorente up against Mark Kavanagh’s Group 1 winners Atlantic Jewel and Super Cool. There’s also a lot of excitement around Roger James’ mare Silent Achiever. James will be looking to build on his New Zealand mare’s achievements in her home country with a strong start to their campaign at Caulfield.
Other strong contenders include Australian Guineas winner Ferlax who’ll be stepping up to Group 1 weight-for-age level, dual WA Group 1 champion Luckgray (now being trained by Robert Smerdon) and Sydney Autumn 3YO Triple Crown winner It’s A Dundeel.
Looking at the odds, Atlantic Jewel is currently the favourite to win, with Luxbet giving odds of 11/10, Sportsbet 1/1 and Betstar 9/10.
It’s a Dundeel is second favourite with odds of 9/2 from Luxbet, 4/1 from Sportsbet and 6/1 from Betstar.
Luxbet then have Super Cool and Fiorente as joint third favourites at 11/1, while Sportbet have Super Cool, Fiorente and Green Moon at 12/1 and Betstar have Green Moon at 10/1.
If you’re looking to get your friends or co-workers involved in the excitement of horse racing, then the Australian Spring Racing Carnival is the perfect series of events and a sweepstake is the ultimate way to get involved. Panda Sweeps makes setting up a sweepstake quick and easy and, best of all, it’s free! Let Panda Sweeps take the sweat out of sweepstakes.
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